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The ‘broke’ Zimbabwean government is set to splurge $1 billion — almost a
quarter of the country’s budget — in the establishment of a Robert
Gabriel Mugabe University, at a time most State higher learning
institutions are chronically underfunded and the economy is on its
knees.
Embattled Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo yesterday told the
media that the institution will be located in Mazowe district, where
Mugabe and his family have a vast business empire.
Moyo unashamedly revealed that the government was pushed into the project by First Lady Grace Mugabe.
“Cabinet has approved a grant of $800m towards the construction of the
university and a grant of $200m towards the establishment of the
university’s endowment fund for research and innovation,” he said.
“We have been pushed positively. The real inspiration and mover pulling
together the various pieces that need to be put in place has been the
First Lady,” he said.
“The Robert Mugabe University will concentrate on critical Stem
(science, technology, engineering and mathematics) areas almost
exclusively at graduate level to produce super specialists and super
experts, who will champion Zimbabwe’s industrialisation and
modernisation for sustainable socio-economic transformation and
development.”
But his permanent secretary, Francis Gudyanga, speaking at the same
event, added the university will also concentrate on arts and humanities
research, such as “revolutionary leadership”.
“An important feature of the university will be The Robert Mugabe
Institute, which will focus on research, historical collections, library
and studies on transformative and revolutionary leadership, thinking
and attributes that shaped the man, Robert Gabriel Mugabe, to evolve
from humble beginnings into an iconic global leader, nationalist, pan
Africanist, revolutionary, educationalist, strategist and champion of
the rights of the downtrodden the world over,” he said.
Gudyanga said the university would be incubated by the University of
Zimbabwe (UZ) through a process co-ordinated by UZ vice-chancellor, Levi
Nyagura, with Mugabe and Grace as its founding trustees.
Zimbabwe already has 13 State universities and seven private ones.

Esteemed journalist Max du Preez put pen to paper last week to once
again express his views on the Economic Freedom Fighters – many of which
have been disproven over the past four years since the inception of
this young dynamic movement.
Du Preez’s first bone of contention is the growth of the EFF since 2013. He seems to dispute the idea that the
EFF is on a fast enough growth path, noting that the popularity of the
movement is only “perceived” and drummed up by the media and not by the
voters. But he goes on to mention that the party will probably only make
a 10% showing in the 2019 election from 2014’s 6.3%.
It is not clear how Du Preez does not see this as growth in simple
arithmetical terms. But his contention is clearly with pace of growth.
It would seem the party is not growing fast enough for him.
He seems to have missed that on top of being the third biggest party in
less than a year of inception, the EFF also amassed in excess of 800
councillors in less that three years of its presence in formal politics.
The EFF’s astronomic growth is not a matter of dispute in the body
politics. It is a scientific fact.
But he betrays his leanings by quickly comparing it with the DA, which
he predicts will probably make a 30% showing in 2019 – an anecdote that
was not only irrelevant to his article, but also not supported by any
facts.
But perhaps his missed-calculations are more informed by his staunch
belief that the commander in chief of the EFF, Julius Malema, is a power
monger. “He wants power,” Du Preez asserts in his veiled attack on the
EFF leader.
There is no clarity as to why Du Preez believes this so inexorably. He
has been repeating this line since as far back as one can remember. In
the absence of concrete facts, it is difficult to see how he comes to
this definitive conclusion. And he again betrays his disdainful views by
saying “Malema’s [and other leaders] views are not as raw as in the
early days”, which he patronisingly passes as a compliment.
This reminds one of the missionaries of the 1700s who to referred to
their African converts as the “more civilised” ones, polished of their
rough edges. So it seems the rawness is what bothers the esteemed
stalwart about the EFF.
Yet if Du Preez had kept his ear to the ground, he would have heard from
beyond the distant horizons that the “rawness” has been hailed by
ordinary South Africans, not the media, as “the truth”.
There is no polish or refinery for truth. It is either raw, or it is modified, and if it is modified, it is no longer truth.
Du Preez then draws particular attention to a statement Malema made in
which he said white people were supremacists. He seems to defend the
principle that there are some white people who must be exempted from the
inhuman supremacy against blacks in general by a collective white
minority.
He reminded me of some of us black men who sought to be exempted from
the patriarchal violence on women we are witnessing today, qualifying
that there are some among us who are not violent. I was one of them, and
I have seen the error of my ways.
The conversation was a lot deeper than the narrow individual interest.
Du Preez himself is highly vocal in the white community conscientising
them on taking “collective” responsibility for the effects of white
supremacy on the collective black mass. What then is the difference when
the same gospel is preached by Malema?
He then strangely criticises the EFF’s constant engagement on race
issues. One would think Du Preez would know that race relations in South
Africa are far from resolved and that walking on egg shells has not
assisted – it has fermented latent racism.
Rwanda imploded precisely because of this avoidance of pertinent issues. So did Zimbabwe.
The EFF is encouraging an open discussion on race matters that too many are afraid to engage with publicly.
Surprisingly, Mr Du Preez himself is an ardent advocate for dialogue on
race relations. So ardent that he has been vilified by racists himself
for being too harsh on Afrikaners.
That he dismisses the land question does not deserve much attention. He
relegates it to “a popular slogan, but this is more about symbolism and
assertiveness than reality”, he says. I’m certain someone else inserted
that line in his absence and he didn’t care to proofread it. It cannot
be Max du Preez who dismisses such a core struggle agenda in such a
crass manner purely because of his personal feelings for a party
advocating for a more serious discussion on land.
Where is our hope of brave white people who will dare speak without fear
on the land question and explain cogently to fellow whites what this
struggle is about.
This is totally reckless from a stalwart journalist. For his benefit,
there is now a healthy discussion among professionals from economists to
judges who are deliberating on the effects of expropriation of land and
nationalisation of mines.
Du Preez’s own conclusions on the subject are not the final word by any
stretch of the imagination. And if Du Preez strongly believes the EFF’s
submissions must not be tested because they have failed elsewhere, then
by this global logic, no one should try anything after it has failed
elsewhere.
By this logic, Karl Benz should not have attempted building a car after
Frenchman Nicholas Joseph Cugnot failed dismally with his “fardier à
vapeur”, not to mention the host of other failed pioneers who lined up
in between them. Where would the automobile be today?
And it is rather peculiar and crude to compare President Jacob Zuma’s
rhetoric on land with the EFF’s well-considered arguments that it makes
in Parliament and engages local and international minds on.
The EFF is not a bunch of naïve rascals who just “want power” as Du
Preez puts it. This is why he will never fathom its longevity. He still
has to understand its internal and internationalist machinations which
are yes young, but highly sophisticated.
Interestingly, from Pixley ka Isaka Seme’s accounts, this is the kind of
criticism that was levelled at the South African Native National
Congress from Doubting Thomases who perpetually predicted it would never
see two years in existence.
In 2013 critics predicted the EFF would not see its second birthday, Du
Preez has benevolently extended it to six. Perhaps his benevolence will
persist at the sixth birthday and extend it to 10. The EFF is eternally
grateful for his graciousness.
But Du Preez’s other criticisms are petty and lack the kind of
sophistication we’ve come to expect from a professional of his calibre.
He squirms at the EFF’s going to visit King Goodwill Zwelithini and
dismisses it as “sucking up”. For a man who has seen as much politics as
he has, this is below par and disappointing. Does he not know that
societies are captivated by certain individuals of perceived power or
influence? And that in order to access such societies, one of the
effective channels is such individuals?
Because the EFF has ambitions to grow beyond his projected 10%, how else
will it penetrate KwaZulu-Natal, some of whose sway is firmly in the
influence of the king.
Did he dismiss the number of times Nelson Mandela went to visit the very
same king as “sucking up”? My guess is he did not. Then one has to ask
if he perhaps harbours a certain particular disdain for the EFF and why.
Du Preez makes the serious allegation that the EFF is violent in
Parliament. He says: “Many citizens are entertained by the EFF’s violent
shenanigans in Parliament.”
If Du Preez cared to exercise restraint in his bias, he would have noted
that it is the EFF that is the victim of violence in Parliament. If
this humble fact is not satisfactory enough for him, perhaps he would be
satisfied by the court judgment in the EFF vs Baleka Mbete case in
which the courts found that the decision to violently eject the EFF from
Parliament was illegal.
Du Preez would have also followed on social media that Parliament had
increasingly and illegally armed itself with special forces to
administer violence on the EFF’s members. The organisation has a
constitutional right to defend itself.
The statement he makes is insensitive in light of the violence on the
many women of the EFF, many of whom had to be hospitalised because of
this underhandedness of the state. For a seasoned and stalwart struggle
journalists such as himself, this deliberate oversight is perplexing and
tasteless.
Perhaps Du Preez can take a leaf out of another veteran journalist’s
book. Fred Khumalo wrote, a day before Du Preez put his thoughts
together, in an article titled I salute the commander in chief on his
march to the presidency.
Khumalo starts by admitting what Du Preez fails to, which is that he
should be eating his hat for undermining the longevity of this movement,
which many South Africans – not the media – now see as their eyes and
ears on matters of truth.
Khumalo makes no bones about his distance from the EFF and notes his
continuing criticism, but he is fair enough to at least acknowledge the
obvious growth of the young movement. Du Preez fails dismally at this
rather basic benchmark.
It is not beyond the vicinity of possibility that Du Preez’s denied but
unwavering belief in the EFF is his own Achilles Heel in his rather
erroneous analysis of the party.
If this is even remotely possible, then it is this belief in the party
that has led him to mistakenly assert that it has the capacity to be
government in 2019.
He has lost patience and is bitterly disappointed in realising that this
may not be reflected in the numbers he has been witnessing in the last
two polls. But Du Preez must exercise patience. Rome was not built in
five years.
The EFF is young, it acknowledges the fact. It is growing, but it is
young. The commander in chief of the EFF has continuously said the EFF
will not take power through the back door; that it will build slowly and
patiently through branches and persuasion.
The party did not hasten to desire to govern metros in the 2016 election
when it had the bargaining power to do so. It instead opted out of the
power games and rather elected to go back to the ground and build.
It is now speaking to the same youth Du Preez claims it is not engaging.
It has taken a well-considered decision to build in the provinces not
only of Limpopo and North West, but as well in KwaZulu-Natal and the
Eastern Cape where Du Preez correctly notes that it was not strong.
This is clearly a movement that is more patient with its growth and does not “want power” as Du Preez continues to believe.
Evidence through scientific numbers in polls and in public opinion have
clearly shown that the ANC on the other hand is on a downward
trajectory. Why would a dynamic and growing outfit such as the EFF want
to go back to such decay.
The EFF is democratically contesting power through the ballot and has
adequately demonstrated that it will not take power “by any means
possible”. It is precisely in that spirit of its politics that the ANC
is not even a remote possibility. The party will be a majority party
without a shadow of doubt, but it will do so with patience and
persistence.
P.S. Dear Du Preez. It is time to change your stance on the EFF. You do
not have to like it, but at least speak the truth about it. You are a
man who has dedicated his entire life to chasing the truth. We expect
nothing less from you. You once asked in an article you wrote, why the
“democrat” Fana Mokoena joined the EFF. It is because he got tired of
dancing around the truth that was there for all to see.
Change is not happening for Africans. We have been polite about it, but
it is simply not coming. It is more than frustrating, it is painful.
That pain is growing every day we see our parents, family and friends perpetually descend into the abyss of poverty.
It is because that pain is growing that the EFF will keep growing
because it is the only party that speaks the “raw” language of that
pain. You may not like its leadership, you may not even like its
politics or its tone, but at the very least, recognise the truth of the
pain it represents. If you at least bring yourself to that fact, you
will surely know it is a formidable and unstoppable force whose time has
surely come. Salute

BY ELVIS DUMBA
Zanu PF youths in Banket are reportedly fighting for control over a lucrative gold claim in the area.
Ward 22 youth chairman Steven Zidana is reportedly embroiled in a
wrangle with Never Hutepasi, who is a member of the provincial youth
league for Mashonaland West.
Investigations done by this reporter revealed that the illegal mine
which is in Banket near the Anglican Church was once shut down by the
Environment Management Agency a year ago with some of the people who
operated at the site reportedly arrested and appeared in court for
illegally prospecting for the precious mineral.
However, secrecy surrounds the court case as it did not go to trial.
Some of the accused persons fell sick and failed to appear before the
court
The gold mine which is also near a primary school is reportedly linked
to some youths with connections to the Minister of Mines and Mining
Development Walter Chidhakwa prompting authorities to turn a blind eye
at the illegal operations.
Currently the youths are engaged in a bitter fight over control of the mine.
Sources close to the wrangle said Zidana is being chased away from the
mine where the Mines minister’s security aides only identified as
Sibanda and Percy have a stake.
One of the youths, Wonder Hutepasi is allegedly barring a group of
unemployed youths led by Zidana from the claim. This was after rich
pickings following gold ore discoveries after working at the site for
more than two months.
It is said there is bad blood between Zidana and Minister Chidakwa who
is also the area’s Member of Parliament for his links to a Zanu PF
candidate who is standing against the legislator in the forthcoming
primary elections.
“It all started when the guys were at production level after they had
spend some time just pumping out water from the water-logged mine. That
is when Hutepasi came and ordered them off site as he claims he is the
owner of the claim site. Thoses resisting the orders to vacate argue the
place is council property and no one has papers to prove that they have
permission to operate at the place,” said one source
The youths returned to work at the site after other illegal mining
activities were stopped at Eldorado Mine near Chinhoyi where at least
more than 20 people died due to accidents with police and Zanu PF chefs
from Mashonaland West being at the centre of the illegal mining
activities.
Banket police have chosen to ignore the illegal activities even though
the place is just a stone throw away from the police station. The Banket
Town Board has folded its hands, as environmental degradation takes its
toll.
There are unconfirmed reports some senior council employees are
benefiting from the gold at the illegal mine, according to a report by a
community environment monitor.
When contacted for comment, Banket police referred questions to the
Mines ministry and argued it would be subjudice to comment as the matter
was still before the courts.
Repeated efforts to get a comment from Chidhakwa or his aides were fruitless.

BY STAFF REPORTER
THE Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has volunteered to craft
the opposition MDC Alliance’s election manifesto to reconnect the
opposition leaders with the workers.
ZCTU president Peter Mutasa told thousands of opposition supporters at
the MDC Alliance launch rally in Harare on Saturday that workers were
better placed to put together a winning manifesto.
“We are on the ground as workers’ leaders and we know what the people
want. If you are sincere about going back to your founding values, it
would be proper for you to allow us to craft the manifesto for next
year’s elections. Once the alliance has been set up, we will give you a
manifesto with the issues that touch at the heart of the people,” Mutasa
said.
While the MDC-T in particular has over the years sought to project
itself as a social democratic party with pro-labour leanings, critics
have accused the Morgan Tsvangirai-led party of dumping its labour
background and adopting capitalist tendencies.
Mutasa warned opposition leaders not to lose direction once elected into power.
“Whatever happens, you must remember that once you are elected into
power, it is taboo in African custom to eat your totem. Do not eat the
workers once elected into power. Do not turn against labour once you
have your hands on the levers of power. That is why we must continue to
guide you, including through the manifesto,” the ZCTU leader said.
The envisaged alliance brings together MDC founding members Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube, among others.
Ncube, who served as MDC’s first secretary-general, broke ranks with
Tsvangirai in October 2005, accusing the former Prime Minister of being a
dictator. Biti took over as secretary-general, but also broke away in
2013 questioning Tsvangirai’s leadership qualities.
Both Biti and Ncube pledged to take the opposition back to its founding values.
“We are here because we want to give the people of Zimbabwe a fighting
chance at removing Mugabe. We are here to give a fresh, new beginning,
to rest factory settings to our struggle,” Biti said.
Ncube concurred, saying: “We must go back to the founding values of the
MDC, the founding values that we agreed at the Working People’s
Convention in 1999. We must admit before you that we made mistakes along
the way and we are sorry.”

Morgan-Tsvangirai-and-wife-Elizabeth

BY STAFF REPORTER
Former vice president and leader of the fledgling National People’s
Party Joice Mujuru and other opposition chiefs who stayed away on
Saturday from the launch of an electoral alliance which chose MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai as its main man, say the grand coalition is not yet a
done deal. This contrasts sharply with what Tsvangirai and other
opposition leaders, who converged at the Zimbabwe Grounds, in front of
other support groups, to sign and launch a coalition dubbed the MDC
Alliance.
On Saturday Tsvangirai signed a pact with former Finance minister Tendai
Biti of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Welshman Ncube (MDC), Jacob
Ngarivhume (Transform Zimbabwe) and Zimbabwe People First (ZPF)’s
Agrippa Mutambara, a retired army chief.
As far as the larger sections of the opposition movement are concerned,
this is the grand coalition that they have been waiting for and its
leadership has been decided.
Mujuru, who stayed away from the launch of the coalition on Saturday
yesterday, however, told this paper talks to “form the coalition” where
still ongoing.
“What happened must be applauded because it shows the spirit of working
together among progressive forces to achieve the ultimate goals of
dislodging Zanu PF and Mugabe is still there.
“Our negotiating team had engagements with the MDC last week and talks
are ongoing. The only difference is the timing and as the NPP we believe
that once we have concluded talks we will make an announcement once and
for all.
“Coalition talks are not an event, it’s a process of interrogating areas
of common interest and those where there is divergence with a view to
coming up with an agreement on all grey areas and that is what we are
doing with the MDC and other parties,” Mujuru’s spokesperson, Gift
Nyandoro told the Daily News.
Former Finance minister and leader of Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn (MKD), Simba
Makoni, said he had not been invited to Saturday’s historic event,
adding that he was surprised that Tsvangirai and others had launched an
alliance without other parties such as his.
“We were not invited to that coalition and we could not have
gate-crashed the event. Besides we already have a coalition in the form
of the Coalition of Democrats (Code) to which we invited them but turned
us down saying they were not ready at the time.
“We expected that they would come back to us to tell us that they are
now ready for a coalition and we surely would have come together because
that is what we set out to do when we came up with Code two years ago.
However, they never gave us an opportunity to be part of them,” Makoni
said.
Zapu president Dumiso Dabengwa cast doubts about joining Tsvangirai in the coalition.
“Did you want us to dump our parties to join an MDC alliance when we do
not even know what they are up to and what their strategy is?
“We formed a coalition, Code, and invited everybody and they turned us
down so what do we do. They decided to form their own coalition so
should we also jump ship and join them? We are not MDC.
“I suppose it is possible that we can come together, talk and come up
with another coalition but I don’t see us joining the MDC coalition,”
Dabengwa.
They all took turns to endorse Tsvangirai as their candidate to take on Mugabe in the much-anticipated plebiscite.
In his keynote address, Tsvangirai said he personally brokered the peace
deal with his two estranged former secretaries-general, Ncube and Biti.
Ncube broke ranks with Tsvangirai in 2005 following an acrimonious
disagreement over the party’s participation in that year’s senatorial
elections while Biti left the MDC in 2014, a few months after the party
suffered a thorough hiding during the previous year’s elections.
Analysts had repeatedly said a coalition involving Tsvangirai and Mujuru
would present a formidable challenge to Mugabe and his quarrelling
colleagues next year considering that the widow of the late decorated
liberation icon — Solomon Rex —possessed strong liberation credentials
and intimate know-how of Zanu PF’s election mischief.
Mujuru’s absence left many wondering whether she would oppose the
coalition and go it alone or join hands with Dabengwa, Makoni and
Mangoma in the Code.
Tsvangirai expressed hope that Mujuru and others would soon be joining
the “big tent” despite the fact that the MDC Alliance is already
portioning constituencies amongst themselves.
The duo signed a memorandum of agreement (MOU) in May, which lifted the
mood of thousands of ordinary Zimbabweans looking for an alternative to
Mugabe and Zanu PF.
Analysts yesterday said the coalition still needed the likes of Mujuru
and Dabengwa as they were still vital in the opposition’s quest to
defeat Mugabe and Zanu PF.
“The MDC Alliance is an important step in the right direction towards a grand coalition, but it is not enough.
“There are unique electoral benefits that remain missing that Mujuru,
Dabengwa, and Makoni would bring to the grand coalition hence the need
for continued engagement towards a game- changing and formidable grand
coalition.
“Beyond a coalition, the most important thing to focus on is electoral
reforms to level the electoral field. If the opposition fails to secure
electoral reforms then they must ensure they have the tools and
mechanisms to monitor, track, and expose electoral rigging for the world
to see and be convinced beyond a shadow of doubt. It has proven
difficult to demonstrate that the 2013 elections were rigged in the
absence of hard evidence to back up those claims,” said rights and
political expert, Dewa Mavhinga.

BY STAFF REPORTER
World Bank representative in Zimbabwe, Johannes Herdeschee has said
while the country faced a myriad of problems, fiscal deficits, which
have ballooned to 10% of gross domestic product, were the biggest threat
to macro-economic stability.
Herdeschee said this while presenting at a public seminar titled
Breaking New Grounds in Agricultural Financing in Zimbabwe: The Use of
Alternative Collateral and Risk Sharing Mechanisms in the capital on
Friday.
“It is fiscal policy that got us to where we are,” he said.
“The deficits are large and it is very important that each dollar be spent as efficiently and effectively as we can.
“Policy advisers should be worried more about how we spend our money.”
The World Bank representative said Zimbabwe should bite the bullet and
implement austerity measures to improve macro-economic conditions.
“We should look closely at where the money goes. Fiscal adjustment is
important and let’s make it as less painful as we can,” Herdeschee said.
Zimbabwean authorities have relied heavily on the use of Treasury Bills
to fund budget deficits and, by central bank’s admission, they have
issued more than $2 billion TBs since the beginning of the year.
President Robert Mugabe, for political reasons, last year diverted more
than $500 million to agriculture through syndicated debts from the
private sector.
“Fiscal deficit is more than 10% of GDP. It is the growth from 3% to 10%
in 2015 that contributed massively to fiscal deficits,” Herdeschee
noted.
Zimbabwe, since 2013, has been involved in discussions with multilateral
financial institutions, particularly the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund.
However, the discussions have borne little fruit, as the Mugabe
government is reluctant to implement the suggested austerity measures
now that his eyes are fixed on the 2018 elections.

Patrick Chinamasa

BY STAFF REPORTER
FINANCE minister Patrick Chinamasa has said government had learnt from
its past mistakes and would not order another debt write-off on local
authorities as the majority were failing to recover from a similar
directive issued in the run-up to the 2013 harmonised elections.
Chinamasa told delegates at the Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe’s
business conference in Harare that the 2013 debt waiver caused
financial loss of more than $500 million to local authorities, which
some councils have not recovered from.
“The Ministry of Local Government has already submitted to us as
Treasury a list of local authorities that incurred losses due to the
cancellation of the outstanding bills. Let me say that that will never
happen again,” Chinamasa said.
“Can you believe it that the amount of losses that we incurred through
that cancellation is half a billion, so where are we going to get that
money? It puts a big hole into your finances,
so that we acknowledge. The matter is currently under consideration and
we remain very positive that we will find practical ways to assist the
affected local authorities.”
Chinamasa said the debt cancellation had affected investment in municipalities.
“Most of our local authorities are insolvent, that should be corrected,
no investor or country can solve it. When you move around the cities,
you observe massive housing development, but there is no corresponding
industrial development. What that means is that we are heading for some
social problems in the future.”
Chinamasa rapped top officials who awarded themselves hefty salaries at a time their councils were struggling to stay afloat.
“You must appoint appropriate people and qualified people to run your
finances. Thirty percent of revenue should go towards employment and 70%
towards service delivery and if it is the other way round, you will
never get things right.
Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko opened the conference urging the
private sector to partner councils in promoting infrastructure
development.

BY OWN CORRESPONDENT
Clearance of goods at the country’s border posts has reportedly been at a
standstill since Friday following a technical hitch with the customs
and excise department’s automated system, also known as Asycuda.
Scores of trucks were stuck at Beitbridge and other ports as shipping agents resorted to manual clearance of goods.
Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) spokesperson Canisio Mudzimu
confirmed the glitch in a statement yesterday, saying the problem had
since been rectified.
“The technical problem was caused by some power outages, which affected
part of Asycuda World’s functionality. However, urgent maintenance work
is being conducted in collaboration with the United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development consultants,” Zimra said.
“As you appreciate, Asycuda World enables clients to submit their
customs documents to Zimra from anywhere in the world provided that one
is registered with the authority and there is Internet connectivity at
the place from which one will be transacting. Asycuda World enables
pre-clearance of goods, which entails that importers can clear their
goods before arrival at the port of entry as a way of facilitating
smooth flow of cargo. Where the goods would not have been pre-cleared
and the system is down, a business continuity process will be evoked to
facilitate trade,” said Zimra.
But truck drivers at Beitbridge Border Post complained that the fault had negatively affected them.
Shipping and Forwarding Agents’ Association of Zimbabwe chief executive
Joseph Musariri called on Zimra to timeously communicate with
stakeholders when facing connectivity challenges.
“We appreciate Zimra’s system which has made our job easier, but their
network is not reliable and develops faults regularly,” he said.
“We only urge Zimra to come public when such problems occur because
there is confusion between us and our clients waiting for their goods,”
he said.
South Africa, whose customs and excise system is well-oiled, kept
releasing trucks whose numbers kept swelling because they were not being
released at the same speed as they came.

SPORTS DESK
Dynamos star striker Christian Ntouba Epoupa (pictured) could be
sidelined for weeks after suffering a groin injury in the team’s match
against Black Rhinos, dealing a huge blow to the Harare giants’ hopes of
challenging for the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League title this
season. The Cameroonian hobbled off the pitch after 68 minutes,
clutching his groin and looking in serious pain, in Dynamos’ 1-0 win
over the army side on Saturday.
Team manager Richard Chihoro yesterday confirmed the big striker
suffered a groin injury, but said they were yet to determine the
severity of the problem.
“He has a groin injury. He didn’t train today and we fear he will be out
for some weeks. He is receiving treatment,” Chihoro said. “But with
groin injuries one needs some rest for them to recover. It’s a huge blow
for us because he is one of our best players at the moment and we would
want to have him for all our matches,” Chihoro said.
Recovery time for a groin injury depends on the severity of the injury. A
mild groin strain may heal within a few weeks, whereas a severe injury
may take six weeks or longer to recover.
Athletes are normally encouraged to stop doing activities that cause pain until the groin has fully healed.
Ntouba, who has endeared himself well with the club’s hard-to-please
supporters since joining the club at the start of the season, will not
be in Dynamos’ matchday 21 squad to face Bigboy Mawiwi’s Hwange at
Rufaro Stadium tomorrow.
He may not be the only injury absentee for the Glamour Boys with
goalkeeper Tonderai Mateyaunga still being monitored by the club’s
medical staff ahead of the match.
Mateyaunga missed the Rhinos match due to injury and Ashley Reyners held
fort, but did very little to convince the Dynamos faithful that he can
do the job with some dodgy goalkeeping.
The good news in the Dynamos’ camp is the expected return of Denver Mukamba, who missed the team’s last two matches.
The midfielder was suspended for his team’s match against Triangle and was sidelined by illness against Rhinos.
“He had a bout of flu, but he is looking well now. He trained with the
rest of the squad today. He should be available on Wednesday,” Chihoro
said.
Dynamos are third on the log standings with 36 points, four behind log
leaders Ngezi Platinum, although the former champions have two games in
hand against their title rivals.
They are facing a relegation-threatened Hwange side who are attempting
to find their feet, following a poor start to their season.
The dismal start cost coach Nation Dube his job and has been replaced by
former Harare City gaffer Mawiwi, who has managed two wins in four
matches since taking over.
“We know it will be a very tough match against a rejuvenated team. They
are desperate for points especially at this stage of the season. It’s
the second half of the season and everyone is scrambling for points for
different reasons. All the teams always step up their game whenever they
are playing Dynamos anyway, but we have become used to it so we will
prepare for it the same way we prepare for all the other matches. We are
playing at home, and we should be able to get all the three points,”
Chihoro added.
The Rufaro double header which had been scheduled for 1 and 3pm for the
Harare City, Shabanie match and the Dynamos , Hwange could be moved to
evening kick offs at the request of DeMbare.
An inspection specifically for the lighting system was set for last
night, which would be used to determine whether the stadium can host
evening matches.

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Clutching her rosary in one hand and voting card in
the other, 102-year-old Lydia Gathoni, a clear contender for Kenya’s
keenest voter, queued through the night to ensure she was first in line
to cast her ballot on Tuesday.
It was the same in 2013 elections, when Gathoni, a die-hard supporter of
President Uhuru Kenyatta, was first to make her mark at the primary
school outside Nairobi where her political hero also voted.
Wrapped in a blanket to ward off the cold and drizzle, Gathoni led
election officials and fellow voters in a prayer for peace – and a
Kenyatta victory – before entering the booth.
“Let God share with him the wisdom of Solomon,” she said. “Let God prevail. Let God govern the country.”
Born in 1915 when Kenya was known as the British East Africa
protectorate, Gathoni was well into middle age by the time Kenya’s
independence arrived in 1963 and her idol, Jomo Kenyatta, became its
first president.
Her admiration has since passed to Kenyatta’s 55-year-old son, Uhuru,
who is running for re-election against his veteran rival Raila Odinga, a
72-year-old former political prisoner and son of Kenya’s first
vice-president.
“This woman has a loving sense for Kenyatta and his father,” said her
70-year-old grandson, Simon, a retired employee of Nairobi’s Jomo
Kenyatta University.
Since 2013, Gathoni has woken at 3 a.m. every day to pray for another
Kenyatta victory, he added. “She loves his boy more than ever,” he told
Reuters.

First Lady Grace Mugabe

Own Correspondent
KADOMA-Tensions ran high during the emotionally-charged burial of Zanu
PF Mashonaland West proportional representation MP, Joan Tsogorani,
yesterday in Kadoma amid accusations she was bewitched by fellow party
functionaries jealous of her political rise.
Tsogorani (nee Mashoko) who was 43 years old passed away on
Monday after suffering from hypertension-related complications for some
weeks, which resulted in her turning blind before succumbing to
respiratory failure at West End Clinic, Harare.

By JAMES MUONWA
KAROI-The internationally-condemned clean-up campaign to rid towns and
cities of slum dwellings code-named ‘Operation Murambatsvina/ Clean Up
Trash’ in 2005 by the Zanu PF government led by President Robert
Mugabe is back to haunt it again.

Mujuru supporters

Mujuru supporters besiege Chinhoyi.

Sports minister Hlongwane

By James Muonwa

Cabinet on Tuesday gave the nod to the Sports and Recreation Policy
that seeks to transform the sector and ensure competiveness of local
athletes at international platforms.
Sports and Recreation minister, Makhosini Hlongwane made the
announcement yesterday (today Aug 17) during the Youth In Sport
Cenference in Chinhoyi that was running concurrently with the ongoing
14th edition of the Zimbabwe National Youth Games (ZNYG). The absence of
a National Sports Policy was the missing link that militated against
athletes from making it big at international competitions such as the
Olympics, Hlongwane said.
He said the policy envisages undoing the colonial legacy that
excluded the majority from participating in sports and recreation
activities. “The ‘Sports For All’ initiative is enshrined in this policy
as we seek the democratization and decentralization of sports
and recreation which before independence segregated the majority and
made sport elitist.
“ We want to remove past prejudices that continue to arrest us,” said Hlongwane.
The sports minister said the blueprint would broaden participation of athletes from the remotest outposts.
He said Zimbabwe, through the policy, shall reorganize the sector
by regulating, enabling and facilitating the establishment of
viable down-stream industries.
Among other issues, the document will pave the way for
the promulgation of Anti-Match Fixing, Anti-Doping legislation and
develop a funding model for all national teams. The policy also seeks to
reformat the ZNYG that would see competitions starting from ward level
to enhance competitiveness at the national showcase.
Meanwhile, the host province, Mashonaland West was leading the
medals log table having bagged 18, seven gold, four silver and seven
bronze, most of which are from athletics. Harare was second while third
was Bulawayo with 11 and eight medals, respectively.

BY JAMES MUONWA

The Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (Zimdef) has reportedly
injected over $1 million towards various infrastructure development
projects, among others, at Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT),
parliamentarians heard recently.
The Parliamentary portfolio on Higher and Tertiary Education, Science
and Technology Development led by Chinhoyi MP Peter Matarutse, which was
touring the University, was told Zimdef poured varying amounts of money
into the three-star CUT Hotel, students’ dining hall
and laboratories.
CUT vice chancellor, Professor David Simbi said Zimdef also funded
the first phase of the envisaged cattle breeding project at the
University farm, which saw the purchase of hybrid livestock. “Since 2010
Zimdef has funded various projects estimated at $1 million. This
relationship will realize us develop a roadmap to take Zimbabwe to where
we want it to be in terms of human capital
development with the help of Zimdef,” said Simbi.
He said the former teacher-training college which was transformed
into a fully-fledged university was geared to embark on the second phase
of CUT Hotel’s construction, which will see the setting up of riverside
chalets, expansion of the kitchen and additional conference rooms.
Simbi said CUT, with the help of Zimdef, had built chemistry, biology
and physics laboratories which urgently needed to be furnished with
state-of-the-art equipment.
He emphasized that the cattle breeding exercise would be rolled out
countrywide, mainly targeting hybrid livestock for artificial
insemination in order to grow the national cattle herd.
The vice chancellor appealed to Zimdef chief executive, Fredrick
Mandizvidza, who was part of the delegation, to avail additional
finances towards completion of projects which are at various stages of
completion.
The parliamentary and Zimdef delegation is on a whirlwind tour of
higher and tertiary institutions to have an appreciation of all
Zimdef-funded projects following revelations that funds from
the quasi-governmental body was being abused to further personal
political ends by certain individuals.